Although the FAA on Sunday cut back the work schedules of thousands of air traffic controllers, Bay Area airports said most local flights were operating on time.

San Francisco International Airport, because of its size, is the only local airport that could be significantly hit by the federal sequester cuts, but had yet to see any staffing-related delays as of Monday afternoon, said spokesman Doug Yakel. He noted the airport did have expected delays Sunday but they were caused by planned runway construction.

Officials at Oakland and Mineta San Jose international airports, which carry far less traffic, said the airports were also mostly on time.

There were, however, a few trickle-down effects from staffing cuts at other airports. For instance, a cut in air traffic controller hours at Los Angeles International Airport delayed three flights between San Jose and Los Angeles early morning Monday. Some flights from the Bay Area to Charlotte were also delayed about 20 minutes Monday afternoon because of staffing there.

The delay concerns are the result of the federal sequester cuts that kicked in March 1. After the nation's 15,000 air traffic controllers were given notice of pending furloughs, the Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday began requiring the employees to take off one unpaid day every two weeks. Airports on the East Coast, LAX and elsewhere have reported delays as air traffic controllers space flights farther apart to deal with the smaller workforce.

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Also part of sequester were spending reductions at the Transportation Security Administration, though local airports said the cuts had not resulted in increased wait times for Bay Area travelers to navigate through security.

Airport officials advised passengers to check their flight status with their airline before leaving for the airport. They say their standard advice applies: Plan to arrive 90 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights and two hours early for international flights.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705. Follow him at twitter.com/RosenbergMerc.